


Welcome to Tomorrow

by RisuAlto



Series: Tumblr Ask Prompt Fills [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen, Post-Canon, Technology, and selfies, by which I mean iPhones, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 12:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21476191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RisuAlto/pseuds/RisuAlto
Summary: “Oh.  I’ve seen some ads for those, I think,” Harry said, thoughtfully.  Then, to Ron, who had now put the smartphone back in his jacket, he asked, “Is your dad studying it?”“No—” Ron began, but then sighed, “Well, yes, my dad’s interested in them.  New muggle inventions and all that, but this one’s actually mine and,” he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “it’s actually really cool.”
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Series: Tumblr Ask Prompt Fills [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1547980
Kudos: 15





	Welcome to Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> So, when I got a request for this phrase and HP characters, I had to go on the wiki to remember epilogue details because it had been a hot minute since I read these books. I found out that Harry got a promotion in the Ministry the same year the first iPhone came out, and... well, this happened.

“What,” said Harry, staring at Ron’s hands, “is that?”

It was a genuine testament to the familiarity that only years of marriage could bring that Ron did not even look up from the thing in his grip as Hermione answered with an audible eyeroll, “It’s a smartphone, Harry.”

“Oh. I’ve seen some ads for those, I think,” Harry said, thoughtfully. Then, to Ron, who had now put the smartphone back in his jacket, he asked, “Is your dad studying it?”

“No—” Ron began, but then sighed, “Well, yes, my dad’s interested in them. New muggle inventions and all that, but this one’s actually mine and,” he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “it’s actually _really_ cool.”

Hermione reached out to grab her drink, and the flickering light from the restaurant’s table-candle cast tiny laughing splashes of light over her jaw and shoulders as she smiled. “I’m surprised Ginny hasn’t gotten one yet. They’re kind of everywhere these days,” she said, signature traces of joy at being able to explain something seeping through. “Even the Ministry is interested—actually, there’s been a lot of talk lately about whether or not we should be trying to adapt some of the smartphones so they can be used with magic. I don’t think it’s a bad idea, but there have also been a couple of cases of curses, hexes, and so on being carried by smartphones, and I can tell you right now that it usually doesn’t end well for the owner when that happens…wizard or muggle. Has this really not gotten to the Auror Department yet?”

A sour sort of feeling struck Harry when she spoke (he mostly ignored Ron, who had clearly heard this at least seventeen times already from his wife _and_ his father, separately), and he felt his face scrunch up. He’d thought that the folders left on his desk at work on Friday were regarding that promotion he’d put in for, but it was seeming more likely that they were actually regarding this. Either way, it was off-putting. “No,” he replied, “but I bet it will soon. Thanks for the heads up.” Harry, also, reached out and took a long sip of his drink.

“You both,” Ron said after a second, clinking his glass with _purpose_ back onto the table, “are too negative for your own good. Everything anyone comes up with can pretty much be used for bad by bad people. Doesn’t make the _thing_ any less good. Here.” And he turned around in his chair, pulling the smartphone out of his pocket and futzing with it for a moment, before lifting it up in the air with the screen turned towards the table. 

“Hermione, scooch to Harry’s side of the table, would you?” he asked. 

“It’s a camera,” Hermione explained as she settled next to Harry, putting an arm around his shoulders. “Smile.”

Harry looked up and could see that, indeed, the image on the screen reflected the three of them, and so he shifted his head a little to the left so Ron’s shoulder wasn’t covering half his face, and let a grin overtake his features. The screen flashed once (not terribly brightly, though, Harry noticed), and Ron pulled his arm down to do…something else with the phone as Hermione pulled out the closest chair and sat down again, pulling her drink around to the new spot. 

After a second, Ron set the smartphone in the middle of the table with a proud “told-you-so” smile. “There,” he said. Harry looked at the screen to see the photo—completely still and mundane, but decently framed anyway—and all of their faces smiling back. There were white digits across the top covering Ron’s forehead that told the time, but Ron didn’t seem to care as he informed Harry, “Now it’s my wallpaper.”

“Oh, that’s precious,” Hermione said with a grin. “You should send it to me.”

“Can you send it to me, too?” Harry asked as Ron took his phone back and nodded enthusiastically to his wife.

He pocketed the device with a sly grin. “If you get a smartphone, I can.” Harry rolled his eyes.

Regardless, it was only a few weeks later when the first text message Harry received read, “Welcome to tomorrow, dude.” His two best friends’ smiles, on either side of his own, beamed up from the screen.


End file.
